Systems and methods for image storage

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for image storage. The methods may include obtaining a first image of a subject. The methods may further include obtaining a second image of the subject. The second image may include scan status information of the subject. The scan status information may be associated with a status of the subject when the first image is acquired. And The methods may also include storing the second image correspondingly with the first image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No.201910749838.3 filed on Aug. 14, 2019, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to imaging technology, and inparticular, to systems and methods for image storage.

BACKGROUND

With the development of medical science and technology, medical imagingbecomes more and more important. A scanning device (e.g., a magneticresonance (MR) device, a computed tomography (CT) imaging device, anX-ray imaging device, an ultrasound device, a positron emissiontomography (PET) device, a digital radiography (DR) device) can be usedto perform scanning on a subject and determine scanning images based onscanning results. The scanning images can be used to analyze internalcondition of the subject. In current practice, the scanning images maypresent the internal condition of the subject. However, scan statusinformation of the subject during scanning cannot be traced back when auser is viewing the scanning images. In some cases, it may be beneficialfor the user to understand the status information of the subject duringscanning. Therefore, it is desirable to provide systems and methods forstoring the scanning images and other images (e.g., optical images) ofthe subject that include the scan status information of the subjectduring scanning, such that the user can trace back to the scan statusinformation of the subject when viewing the scanning images, therebyimproving efficiency and/or accuracy in analyzing the scanning images.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for imagestorage. The method may be implemented on at least one machine each ofwhich has at least one processor and at least one storage device. Themethod may include obtaining a first image of a subject. The method mayfurther include obtaining a second image of the subject. The secondimage may include scan status information of the subject. The scanstatus information may be associated with a status of the subject whenthe first image is acquired. And the method may also include storing thesecond image correspondingly with the first image.

In some embodiments, the method may further include storing the scanstatus information correspondingly with the first image.

In some embodiments, the storing the second image correspondingly withthe first image may include storing the second image and the first imagein a same file.

In some embodiments, the storing the second image correspondingly withthe first image may include obtaining, based on the second image,character stream data corresponding to the second image, and storing thecharacter stream data correspondingly with the first image.

In some embodiments, the obtaining, based on the second image, characterstream data corresponding to the second image may include obtaining thecharacter stream data by performing a serialization process on thesecond image.

In some embodiments, the storing the character stream datacorrespondingly with the first image may include storing the first imagein a first storage file. The first storage file may include a firststorage space. The storing the character stream data correspondinglywith the first image may further include storing the character streamdata in the first storage space of the first storage file.

In some embodiments, the storing the character stream datacorrespondingly with the first image may include storing the first imagein a second storage file. The second storage file may include a secondstorage space. The storing the character stream data correspondinglywith the first image may further include storing the character streamdata in a third storage file, and storing path information of the thirdstorage file in the second storage space of the second storage file.

In some embodiments, the first image and the second image may beacquired simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the first image may be a scanning image, and thesecond image may be an optical image.

In some embodiments, the first image may be acquired by a scanningdevice, and the second image may be acquired by a piece of photographicequipment. Or the first image may be acquired by a first component of ascanning device, and the second image may be acquired by a secondcomponent of the scanning device.

In some embodiments, the first image may include a 2D image, and thesecond image may include a video frame. Or the first image may include a3D image, and the second image may include a video.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving, from auser, a request for viewing the first image, and outputting, based onthe request, the first image and the second image for display.

In some embodiments, the method may further include outputting, based onthe request, the scan status information for display.

In some embodiments, the outputting, based on the request, the firstimage and the second image for display may include obtaining, from afirst storage file, the first image, obtaining, from a first storagespace of the first storage file, character stream data corresponding tothe second image, generating, based on the character stream data, thesecond image, and outputting, based on the request, the first image andthe second image.

In some embodiments, the generating, based on the character stream data,the second image may include generating the second image by performing adeserialization process on the character stream data.

In some embodiments, the outputting, based on the request, the firstimage and the second image for display may include obtaining, from asecond storage file, the first image, obtaining, from a second storagespace of the second storage file, path information of a third storagefile that stores character stream data corresponding to the secondimage, obtaining, based on the path information, the third storage file,obtaining, from the third storage file, the character stream datacorresponding to the second image, generating, based on the characterstream data, the second image, and outputting, based on the request, thefirst image and the second image.

In some embodiments, the generating, based on the character stream data,the second image may include generating the second image by performing adeserialization process on the character stream data.

In some embodiments, the method may further include determining the scanstatus information by analyzing the second image.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system for imagestorage. The system may include at least one storage medium including aset of instructions, and at least one processor in communication withthe at least one storage medium. When executing the set of instructions,the at least one processor may be directed to cause the system to obtaina first image of a subject. The at least one processor may be directedfurther to obtain a second image of the subject. The second image mayinclude scan status information of the subject. The scan statusinformation may be associated with a status of the subject when thefirst image is acquired. And the at least one processor may be directedfurther to store the second image correspondingly with the first image.

A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a non-transitorycomputer readable medium including at least one set of instructions forimage storage. When executed by one or more processors of a computingdevice, the at least one set of instructions may cause the computingdevice to perform a method. The method may include obtaining a firstimage of a subject. The method may further include obtaining a secondimage of the subject. The second image may include scan statusinformation of the subject. The scan status information may beassociated with a status of the subject when the first image isacquired. And the method may also include storing the second imagecorrespondingly with the first image.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or maybe learned by production or operation of the examples. The features ofthe present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or useof various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplaryembodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similarstructures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary image storagesystem according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary computing device according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary mobile device according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is an exemplary optical image of a subject according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is an exemplary scanning image of a subject according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A is another exemplary optical image of a subject according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is another exemplary scanning image of a subject according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for outputtingan image according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringaspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used in this disclosure, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that the terms “system,” “engine,” “unit,”“module,” and/or “block” used herein are one method to distinguishdifferent components, elements, parts, sections, or assemblies ofdifferent levels in ascending order. However, the terms may be displacedby another expression if they achieve the same purpose.

Generally, the words “module,” “unit,” or “block” used herein refer tologic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of softwareinstructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein may beimplemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any type ofnon-transitory computer-readable medium or another storage device. Insome embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled andlinked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that softwaremodules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or fromthemselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software modules/units/blocks configured for performing oncomputing devices (e.g., processor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2) may beprovided on a computer-readable medium, such as a compact disc, adigital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any othertangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally storedin a compressed or installable format that needs installation,decompression, or decryption prior to performing). Such software codemay be stored, partially or fully, on a storage device of the performingcomputing device, for performing by the computing device. Softwareinstructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules/units/blocks may be includedin connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or canbe included of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays orprocessors. The modules/units/blocks or computing device functionalitydescribed herein may be implemented as software modules/units/blocks,but may be represented in hardware or firmware. In general, themodules/units/blocks described herein refer to logicalmodules/units/blocks that may be combined with othermodules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocksdespite their physical organization or storage. The description may beapplicable to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module, or block isreferred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another unit,engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected or coupledto, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, or block, or anintervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations thatsystems implement according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of theflowcharts may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operationsmay be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, oneor more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or moreoperations may be removed from the flowcharts.

Provided herein are systems and components for medical imaging and/ormedical treatment. In some embodiments, the medical system may includean imaging system. The imaging system may include a single modalityimaging system and/or a multi-modality imaging system. The singlemodality imaging system may include, for example, a magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) system, a positron emission tomography (PET) system, anemission computed tomography (ECT) system, a computed tomography (CT)imaging system, an X-ray imaging system, a molecular imaging (MI)system, a radiation therapy (RT) system, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The multi-modality imaging system may include, for example, acomputed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-CT) system, apositron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI)system, a single photon emission computed tomography-magnetic resonanceimaging (SPECT-MRI) system, a digital subtraction angiography-magneticresonance imaging (DSA-MRI) system, a computed tomography-positronemission tomography (CT-PET) system, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the medical system may include a treatmentsystem. The treatment system may include a treatment plan system (TPS),image-guide radiotherapy (IGRT), etc. The image-guide radiotherapy(IGRT) may include a treatment device and an imaging device. Thetreatment device may include a linear accelerator, a cyclotron, asynchrotron, etc., configured to perform a radio therapy on a subject.The treatment device may include an accelerator of species of particlesincluding, for example, photons, electrons, protons, or heavy ions. Theimaging device may include an MRI scanner, a CT scanner (e.g., cone beamcomputed tomography (CBCT) scanner), a digital radiology (DR) scanner,an electronic portal imaging device (EPID), etc.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to systems and methods forimage storage. The systems may obtain a first image (e.g., a scanningimage) of a subject (e.g., a patient). The systems may obtain a secondimage (e.g., an optical image) of the subject. The second image mayinclude scan status information of the subject which may be associatedwith a status of the subject when the first image is acquired. Thesystems may further store the second image correspondingly with thefirst image (e.g., in a same file). According to the systems and methodsof the present disclosure, the first image may be stored and/ordisplayed correspondingly with the second image. A user may trace backto the second image quickly when viewing the first image, therebyassisting the user to analyze the first image effectively, efficientlyand/or accurately.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary image storagesystem according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asillustrated, the image storage system 100 may include an imaging device110, a network 120, a terminal device 130, a processing device 140, anda storage device 150. The components of the image storage system 100 maybe connected in one or more of various ways. For example, the imagingdevice 110 may be connected to the processing device 140 through thenetwork 120. As another example, the imaging device 110 may be connectedto the processing device 140 directly (as indicated by thebi-directional arrow in dotted lines linking the imaging device 110 andthe processing device 140). As a further example, the storage device 150may be connected to the processing device 140 directly or through thenetwork 120. As still a further example, the terminal device 130 may beconnected to the processing device 140 directly (as indicated by thebi-directional arrow in dotted lines linking the terminal device 130 andthe processing device 140) or through the network 120.

The imaging device 110 may include a scanning device 111 and a capturedevice 112 (e.g., a piece of photographic equipment, a piece of thermalimaging equipment, etc.). The scanning device 111 may scan an objectlocated within its detection region and generate scanning imagesrelating to the object. In some embodiments, the object may include apatient, a man-made object, etc. In some embodiments, the object mayinclude a specific portion, organ, and/or tissue of a patient. Forexample, the object may include a head, a brain, a neck, a body, ashoulder, an arm, a thorax, a cardiac, a stomach, a blood vessel, a softtissue, a knee, feet, or the like, or any combination thereof. In thepresent disclosure, “subject” and “object” are used interchangeably. Insome embodiments, the scanning device 111 may include an MR scanningdevice, a CT scanning device, an X-ray scanning device, an ultrasoundscanning device, a PET scanning device, a DR scanning device, or thelike, or any combination thereof. Merely by way of example, the MRscanning device may include a main magnet assembly for providing astrong uniform main magnetic field to align the individual magneticmoments of H atoms within the object. During this process, the H atomsmay oscillate around their magnetic poles at their characteristic Larmorfrequency. If the object is subjected to an additional magnetic field,which is tuned to the Larmor frequency, the H atoms may absorbadditional energy, which rotates the net aligned moment of the H atoms.The additional magnetic field may be provided by an RF excitation signal(e.g., RF signal generated by RF coils). When the additional magneticfield is removed, the magnetic moments of the H atoms may rotate backinto alignment with the main magnetic field thereby emitting an MRsignal. The MR signal may be received and processed (e.g., by Fouriertransform (FT) of data in a k-space, frequency encoding, phase encoding)to form an MR image. As another example, the CT scanning device maygenerally include an X-ray tube that emits ionizing radiation thattraverses an examination region and a portion of an object therein andilluminates a detector array disposed across the examination region,opposite to the x-ray tube. The detector may produce projection dataindicative of the detected radiation, which may be reconstructed togenerate volumetric image data indicative of the portion of the object.With spectral CT, the projection data may include signals which areacquired concurrently and that correspond to different photon energyranges. There are several approaches for performing spectral CT. Forexample, the CT scanning device may include two or more sources, atleast one source of which is configured to switch between at least twodifferent kVps, and/or a detector array with energy-resolving detectors.As a further example, the X-ray scanning device may be configured toscan an object (e.g., a patient) using X-rays and generate image dataassociated with the object. The X-ray scanning device may include ascanning source, a table, a detector, or the like. The scanning sourcemay emit X-rays to scan the object or a portion thereof located on thetable. The detector may detect one or more X-rays emitted from thescanning source or scattered by the subject or a portion thereof toobtain projection values. The projection values may be transmittedand/or processed for generating a projection image.

The capture device 112 may collect one or more images (the “image”herein may refer to a single image or a frame of a video (also referredto as a video frame)) and/or a video related to the object. In someembodiments, the capture device 112 may include a camera, a videorecorder, a sensor, or the like, or any combination thereof. The cameramay include a gun camera, a dome camera, an integrated camera, amonocular camera, a binocular camera, a multi-view camera, or the like,or any combination thereof. The video recorder may include a PC DigitalVideo Recorder (DVR), an embedded DVR, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The sensor may include an acceleration sensor (e.g., apiezoelectric sensor), a velocity sensor (e.g., a Hall sensor), adistance sensor (e.g., a radar, an infrared sensor), a steering anglesensor (e.g., a tilt sensor), a traction-related sensor (e.g., a forcesensor), an image sensor (e.g., a visible sensor), or the like, or anycombination thereof. The image acquired by the capture device 112 mayinclude a two-dimensional image, a three-dimensional image, etc. In someembodiments, the image acquired by the capture device 112 may include anoptical image. In some embodiments, the capture device 112 may acquirethe image simultaneously with the scanning image. In some embodiments,the capture device 112 may transmit the acquired image to one or morecomponents (e.g., the terminal device 130, the processing device 140,and the storage device 150) of the image storage system 100 via thenetwork 120. In some embodiments, the capture device 112 may beintegrated into the scanning device 111 (e.g., at a position closed to aradiation source of the scanning device 111) and configured as acomponent thereof. In some embodiments, the scanning device 111 and thecapture device 112 may be configured as two independent devices.

In some embodiments, the scanning device 111 may work in coordinationwith the capture device 112 for acquiring a first image (e.g., ascanning image) and a second image (e.g., an optical image)simultaneously. For example, the scanning device 111 and the capturedevice 112 may be configured as two independent devices. A controldevice may be coupled to (e.g., connected to) the scanning device 111and the capture device 112, and may be configured to control workingtiming (or working sequence) of the scanning device 111 and the capturedevice 112, respectively. As another example, when the scanning device111 performs a scanning process on a subject for acquiring a firstimage, a trigger signal may be generated and sent from the scanningdevice 111 to the capture device 112 to cause the capture device 112 toacquire a second image simultaneously. As a further example, the capturedevice 112 may be integrated into the scanning device 111 and configuredas a component thereof. When the scanning device 111 performs a scanningprocess on a subject for acquiring a first image, a control deviceassociated with the scanning device 111 may control working timing ofthe capture device 112. In such cases, the scanning device 111 and thecapture device 112 may work simultaneously for acquiring the first imageand the second image, and accordingly, the second image may be acquiredduring scanning of the subject, and the second image may include scanstatus information of the subject. The scan status information may beassociated with a status of the subject when the first image isacquired.

The network 120 may include any suitable network that can facilitate theexchange of information and/or data for the image storage system 100. Insome embodiments, one or more components (e.g., the imaging device 110,the terminal device 130, the processing device 140, the storage device150) of the image storage system 100 may communicate with one or moreother components of the image storage system 100 via the network 120.For example, the imaging device 110 may transmit a scanning image and/oran optical image to the storage device 150 via the network 120 forstorage. In some embodiments, the network 120 may be any type of wiredor wireless network, or a combination thereof. The network 120 may beand/or include a public network (e.g., the Internet), a private network(e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)), etc.), awired network (e.g., an Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an802.11 network, a Wi-Fi network, etc.), a cellular network (e.g., a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) network), a frame relay network, a virtual privatenetwork (“VPN”), a satellite network, a telephone network, routers,hubs, switches, server computers, and/or any combination thereof. Merelyby way of example, the network 120 may include a cable network, awireline network, a fiber-optic network, a telecommunications network,an intranet, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), a public telephone switched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth™network, a ZigBee™ network, a near field communication (NFC) network, orthe like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network120 may include one or more network access points. For example, thenetwork 120 may include wired and/or wireless network access points suchas base stations and/or internet exchange points through which one ormore components of the image storage system 100 may be connected to thenetwork 120 to exchange data and/or information.

The terminal device 130 may include a mobile device 131, a tabletcomputer 132, a laptop computer 133, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device 131 may include a smarthome device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, a virtual realitydevice, an augmented reality device, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the smart home device may include a smartlighting device, a control device of an intelligent electricalapparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, a smart videocamera, an interphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the wearable device may include a smart bracelet, smartfootgear, a pair of smart glasses, a smart helmet, a smart watch, smartclothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobile device mayinclude a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gamingdevice, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or the like,or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtual realitydevice and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtual realityhelmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, an augmentedreality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmented reality patch,or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the virtualreality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a Google™Glass, an Oculus Rift, a Hololens, a Gear VR, etc. In some embodiments,the imaging device 110 and/or the processing device 140 may be remotelyoperated through the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, theimaging device 110 and/or the processing device 140 may be operatedthrough the terminal device 130 via a wireless connection. In someembodiments, the terminal device 130 may receive information and/orinstructions inputted by a user, and send the received informationand/or instructions to the imaging device 110 or the processing device140 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 130may receive data and/or information from the processing device 140. Insome embodiments, the terminal device 130 may be part of the processingdevice 140. In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may be omitted.

The processing device 140 may process data and/or information obtainedfrom the imaging device 110, the terminal device 130, the storage device150, and/or any other components associated with the image storagesystem 100. For example, the processing device 140 may obtain a scanningimage and/or an optical image from the imaging device 110, and/or storethe optical image correspondingly with the scanning image in the storagedevice 150. As another example, a user may input a request for viewingthe scanning image by using the terminal device 130. The processingdevice 140 may obtain the request from the terminal device 130, and/orfurther output, based on the request, the scanning image and/or theoptical image for display. In some embodiments, the processing device140 may be a single server or a server group. The server group may becentralized or distributed. In some embodiments, the processing device140 may be local or remote. For example, the processing device 140 mayaccess information and/or data stored in or acquired by the imagingdevice 110, the terminal device 130, the storage device 150, and/or anyother components associated with the image storage system 100 via thenetwork 120. As another example, the processing device 140 may bedirectly connected to the imaging device 110 (as illustrated by thebidirectional arrow in dashed lines connecting the processing device 140and the imaging device 110 in FIG. 1), the terminal device 130 (asillustrated by the bidirectional arrow in dashed lines connecting theprocessing device 140 and the terminal device 130 in FIG. 1), and/or thestorage device 150 to access stored or acquired information and/or data.In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may be implemented on acloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may includea private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, adistributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 maybe implemented on a computing device 200 having one or more componentsillustrated in FIG. 2 in the present disclosure.

The storage device 150 may store data and/or instructions. In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may store data obtained from theimaging device 110, the terminal device 130, and/or the processingdevice 140. For example, the storage device 150 may store a scanningimage and an optical image in a same file. In some embodiments, thestorage device 150 may store data and/or instructions that theprocessing device 140 may execute or use to perform exemplary methodsdescribed in the present disclosure. For example, the storage device 150may store instructions that the processing device 140 may execute tooutput a scanning image and/or an optical image for display. In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may include a mass storage device, aremovable storage device, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-onlymemory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplary massstorage devices may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, asolid-state drive, etc. Exemplary removable storage devices may includea flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zipdisk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memory mayinclude a random access memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include adynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDRSDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and azero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM(MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM(CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments,the storage device 150 may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely byway of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a publiccloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, aninter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be connected to thenetwork 120 to communicate with one or more components (e.g., theimaging device 110, the processing device 140, the terminal device 130)of the image storage system 100. One or more components of the imagestorage system 100 may access the data or instructions stored in thestorage device 150 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the storagedevice 150 may be directly connected to or communicate with one or morecomponents (e.g., the imaging device 110, the processing device 140, theterminal device 130) of the image storage system 100. In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may be part of the processing device140. In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be part of theterminal device 130.

In some embodiments, the image storage system 100 may further includeone or more power supplies (not shown in FIG. 1) connected to one ormore components (e.g., the imaging device 110, the processing device140, the terminal device 130, the storage device 150) of the imagestorage system 100.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations or modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary computing device according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, theprocessing device 140 may be implemented on the computing device 200. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the computing device 200 may include a processor210, a storage 220, an input/output (I/O) 230, and a communication port240.

The processor 210 may execute computer instructions (program code) andperform functions of the processing device 140 in accordance withtechniques described herein. The computer instructions may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, signals, data structures,procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particular functionsdescribed herein. For example, the processor 210 may obtain a firstimage (e.g., a scanning image) and a second image (e.g., an opticalimage) of a subject. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may includea microcontroller, a microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computer(RISC), an application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), anapplication-specific instruction-set processor (ASIP), a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a physicsprocessing unit (PPU), a microcontroller unit, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an advancedRISC machine (ARM), a programmable logic device (PLD), any circuit orprocessor capable of executing one or more functions, or the like, orany combinations thereof.

Merely for illustration purposes, only one processor is described in thecomputing device 200. However, it should be noted that the computingdevice 200 in the present disclosure may also include multipleprocessors, and thus operations of a method that are performed by oneprocessor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointly orseparately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if in thepresent disclosure the processor of the computing device 200 executesboth operations A and B, it should be understood that operations A and Bmay also be performed by two different processors jointly or separatelyin the computing device 200 (e.g., a first processor executes operationA and a second processor executes operation B, or the first and secondprocessors jointly execute operations A and B).

The storage 220 may store data/information obtained from the imagingdevice 110, the terminal device 130, the storage device 150, or anyother component of the image storage system 100. For example, thestorage 220 may store a second image (e.g., an optical image) and/orscan status information of a subject correspondingly with a first image(e.g., a scanning image) of the subject. In some embodiments, thestorage 220 may include a mass storage device, a removable storagedevice, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), orthe like, or any combination thereof. For example, the mass storagedevice may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-statedrive, etc. The removable storage device may include a flash drive, afloppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetictape, etc. The volatile read-and-write memory may include a randomaccess memory (RAM). The RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a doubledate rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), athyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. The ROMmay include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM,etc. In some embodiments, the storage 220 may store one or more programsand/or instructions to perform exemplary methods described in thepresent disclosure. For example, the storage 220 may store a program forthe processing device 140 for obtaining character stream datacorresponding to a second image (e.g., an optical image) by performing aserialization process on the second image.

The I/O 230 may input or output signals, data, or information. In someembodiments, the I/O 230 may enable user interaction with the processingdevice 140. In some embodiments, the I/O 230 may include an input deviceand an output device. Exemplary input devices may include a keyboard, amouse, a touch screen, a microphone, a trackball, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary output devices may include a displaydevice, a loudspeaker, a printer, a projector, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary display devices may include a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED)-based display, aflat panel display, a curved screen, a television device, a cathode raytube (CRT), or the like, or a combination thereof.

Merely by way of example, a user (e.g., an operator) may input datarelated to an object (e.g., a patient) that is being/to beimaged/scanned via the I/O 230. The data related to the object mayinclude identification information (e.g., a name, an age, a gender, aheight, a weight, a medical history, contract information, a physicalexamination result). The user may also input parameters needed for theoperation of the imaging device 110, such as image contrast and/orratio, a region of interest (ROI), slice thickness, an imaging type, ascan type, a sampling type, or the like, or any combination thereof. TheI/O 230 may also display images obtained from the imaging device 110,the storage device 150, and/or the storage 220. For example, a user(e.g., an operator) may input a request for viewing a first image (e.g.,a scanning image) stored in the storage device 150 via the I/O 230(e.g., an input device). The processing device 140 may output the firstimage and/or a second image (e.g., an optical image) for display basedon the request. The first image and/or the second image may be displayedvia the I/O 230 (e.g., an output device).

The communication port 240 may be connected to a network (e.g., thenetwork 120) to facilitate data communications. The communication port240 may establish connections between the processing device 140 and theimaging device 110, the terminal device 130, the storage device 150, orany other component of the image storage system 100. The connection maybe a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of boththat enables data transmission and reception. The wired connection mayinclude an electrical cable, an optical cable, a telephone wire, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The wireless connection may includeBluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, WLAN, ZigBee, mobile network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G,etc.), or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thecommunication port 240 may be a standardized communication port, such asRS232, RS485, etc. In some embodiments, the communication port 240 maybe a specially designed communication port. For example, thecommunication port 240 may be designed in accordance with the digitalimaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) protocol.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary mobile device according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the terminaldevice 130 may be implemented on the mobile device 300. As illustratedin FIG. 3, the mobile device 300 may include a communication platform310, a display 320, a graphic processing unit (GPU) 330, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 340, an I/O 350, a memory 360, and a storage 390.In some embodiments, any other suitable component, including but notlimited to a system bus or a controller (not shown), may also beincluded in the mobile device 300.

In some embodiments, a mobile operating system 370 (e.g., iOS, Android,Windows Phone) and one or more applications 380 may be loaded into thememory 360 from the storage 390 in order to be executed by the CPU 340.The applications 380 may include a browser or any other suitable mobileapps for receiving and rendering information relating to image storageor other information from the processing device 140. User interactionswith the information stream may be achieved via the I/O 350 and providedto the processing device 140 and/or other components of the imagestorage system 100 via the network 120.

To implement various modules, units, and their functionalities describedin the present disclosure, computer hardware platforms may be used asthe hardware platform(s) for one or more of the elements describedherein. The hardware elements, operating systems and programminglanguages of such computers are conventional in nature, and it ispresumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiar therewithto adapt those technologies to the image storage as described herein. Acomputer with user interface elements may be used to implement apersonal computer (PC) or another type of work station or terminaldevice, although a computer may also act as a server if appropriatelyprogrammed. It is believed that those skilled in the art are familiarwith the structure, programming and general operation of such computerequipment and as a result the drawings should be self-explanatory.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the process 400 may be implemented by an image storagesystem (e.g., the image storage system 100). In some embodiments, theimage storage system may be implemented by software and/or hardware,and/or may be integrated in an image storage device. In someembodiments, at least part of process 400 may be performed by theprocessing device 140 (implemented in, for example, the computing device200 shown in FIG. 2). For example, the process 400 may be stored in astorage device (e.g., the storage device 150, the storage 220, thestorage 390) in the form of instructions (e.g., an application), andinvoked and/or executed by the processing device 140 (e.g., theprocessor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, the CPU 340 illustrated in FIG. 3,one or more modules or units illustrated in FIG. 8). The operations ofthe illustrated process presented below are intended to be illustrative.In some embodiments, the process 400 may be accomplished with one ormore additional operations not described, and/or without one or more ofthe operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which theoperations of the process 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and describedbelow is not intended to be limiting.

In 410, a scanning image (also referred to as “first image”) of a targetscan object (also referred to as “subject”) may be obtained, and/or anoptical image (also referred to as “second image”) of the target scanobject may be obtained. In some embodiments, the processing device 140(e.g., the obtaining module 810 illustrated in FIG. 8) may preformoperation 410. In some embodiments, the scanning image may be acquiredby a scanning device (e.g., the scanning device 111). In someembodiments, the optical image may be acquired by a capture device(e.g., the capture device 112). The capture device may include a pieceof photographic equipment. In some embodiments, the optical image may beacquired during scanning of the target scan object.

As used herein, the target scan object may include a patient, a man-madeobject, etc. In some embodiments, the target scan object may include aspecific portion, organ, and/or tissue of a patient. For example, thetarget scan object may include a head, a brain, a neck, a body, ashoulder, an arm, a thorax, a cardiac, a stomach, a blood vessel, a softtissue, a knee, feet, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the scanning image may include or refer to a medical imageacquired based on an interaction between the target scan object (e.g., ahuman body) and a medium provided by a medical imaging device (alsoreferred to as “scanning device”, e.g., the scanning device 111illustrated in FIG. 1). The scanning image may be used to expressinternal information (e.g., a structure and/or a density of internaltissues and organs of the human body) of the target scan object.Exemplary mediums may include an X-ray, an electromagnetic field, anultrasonic wave, or the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplarymedical imaging devices may include an MR scanning device, a CT scanningdevice, an X-ray scanning device, an ultrasound scanning device, a PETscanning device, a DR scanning device, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the scanning image may be atwo-dimensional (2D) image, a three-dimensional (3D) image, etc. In someembodiments, the scanning image may be obtained from a storage device(e.g., the storage device 150) disclosed elsewhere in the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, the scanning image may be obtained fromthe medical imaging device directly.

In some embodiments, the optical image may be acquired using a piece ofphotographic equipment. Exemplary photographic equipment may include acamera, a video recorder, a sensor, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the piece of photographic equipment or aportion thereof may be installed or disposed at a position closed to aradiation source of the medical imaging device. For example, the pieceof photographic equipment may be installed inside the medical imagingdevice and/or configured as a component thereof. Optionally oradditionally, the piece of photographic equipment or a portion thereofmay be installed at any other position. For example, the piece ofphotographic equipment may include two or more cameras installed insideand/or outside the medical imaging device, each of the two or morecameras may be used to acquire a 2D image of the target scan object, andtwo or more 2D images may be combined to generate 3D image(s) of thetarget scan object. In some embodiments, the optical image may beacquired during a scanning process of the target scan object.

The optical image may be generated, stored, or presented in a form of animage, a video frame, a video, etc. For example, if the scanning processtakes a relatively short time, the optical image may be an image (e.g.,an image may be generated by the piece of photographic equipment duringthe scanning process); if the scanning process takes a relatively longtime, the optical image may be a video (e.g., a video may be generatedby the piece of photographic equipment during the scanning process). Asanother example, if the scanning image is a 2D image, the correspondingoptical image may be a video frame; if the scanning image is a 3D image,the corresponding optical image may be a video.

Taking a CT scanning process as an example, the CT scanning process maytake a relatively long time in which scan data of the target scan objectmay be acquired, and accordingly, the piece of photographic equipmentmay acquire a video of the target scan object during the CT scanningprocess. Further, a 2D tomographic image corresponding to a specifictime point of the CT scanning process may be obtained by performing animage reconstruction process on at least part of the scan data, and the2D tomographic image may be associated with (or correspond to) a videoframe at the specific time point in the video. In such cases, the 2Dtomographic image may be determined as the scanning image, and the videoframe may be determined as the optical image. Alternatively oradditionally, a 3D image (and/or a plurality of 2D tomographic imagescorresponding to a plurality of (e.g., each) time point of the CTscanning process) may be obtained based on the scan data. In such cases,the 3D image may be determined as the scanning image, and the video maybe determined as the optical image.

In some embodiments, the optical image and the scanning image may beacquired simultaneously. For example, signals and/or instructions may besent to the medical imaging device and the piece of photographicequipment (e.g., at the same time) to cause the medical imaging deviceand the piece of photographic equipment to work simultaneously. In suchcases, the optical image and the scanning image may be acquiredsimultaneously. Optionally or additionally, the optical image may beacquired with a delay (e.g., a delay of milliseconds, a delay of tens ofmilliseconds, a delay of hundreds of milliseconds, etc.), andaccordingly, the optical image may correspond to the scanning image withan allowable time error. In some embodiments, the optical image and/orthe scanning image may include timestamp information or may beassociated with the timestamp information. In such cases, the opticalimage may correspond to the scanning image based partially on thetimestamp information, and accordingly, the optical image may be storedand/or displayed correspondingly with the scanning image. In someembodiments, a shooting angle of the optical image may be the same as orsimilar to a scanning angle of the scanning image, so that a perspectiveof the optical image may be the same as or similar to a perspective ofthe scanning image. In some embodiments, a shooting region of theoptical image may be the same as or similar to a scanning region of thescanning image. In some embodiments, the shooting region of the opticalimage may include and/or be larger than the scanning region of thescanning image, so that the optical image may at least include surfaceinformation of the scanning region of the scanning image. In someembodiments, the positions at which the piece of photographic equipmentare mounted may be designed and/or adjusted according to the shootingangle and/or the shooting region of the scanning image. For example, thepiece of photographic equipment may be mounted at a position close to oradjacent to a radiation source of the medical imaging device such thatthe shooing angle and/or the shooting region of the optical image mayinclude, or be the same as or similar to the shooing angle and/or thescanning region of the scanning image. As another example, scanningparameters (e.g., a scanning angle) of the scanning image may bepredetermined, and the piece of photographic equipment may be adjustedto a corresponding position such that the piece of photographicequipment may acquire the optical image from a same or similar shootingangle as the scanning image. In some embodiments, the scanning image mayinclude scan data of the target scan object acquired from a plurality ofscanning angles, and the optical image may be a video related to surfaceinformation acquired from a plurality of shooting angles. Taking a CTscanning process as an example, an X-ray tube and a detector may rotatearound a target scan object for acquiring scan data (e.g., 3D volumedata) of the target scan object from a plurality of scanning angles, andaccordingly, a piece of photographic equipment may rotate around thetarget scan object for acquiring a video including surface informationof the target scan object during the CT scanning process.

In some embodiments, the scanning image may be used to express internalinformation of the target scan object, such as morphology, a structure,a density and/or a function of internal tissues and organs of a humanbody. The optical image may be used to express surface information ofthe target scan object, such as a surface status, a posture, anocclusion or shelter on the human body. In some embodiments, the opticalimage may be acquired during a scanning process of the target scanobject in which the scanning image is acquired, so that surfaceinformation of the target scan object during scanning may be obtainedbased on the optical image, and/or may be used for or facilitate furtherprocessing or analysis of the scanning image (e.g., diagnosis ofdisease, treatment, image quality assessment, or the like, or acombination thereof).

In some embodiments, the optical image may include scan progressinformation of the target scan object. As used herein, the scan progressinformation may refer to information related to and/or parameters usedin a scanning process, such as a scanning time, a scanning angle, ascanning range, a scanning path, a scanning distance, or the like, orany combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical image mayinclude scan status information of the target scan object. As usedherein, the scan status information may refer to information associatedwith a status of the target scan object when the scanning image isacquired. In some embodiments, the scan status information may include ashooting angle of the optical image, a shooting region of the opticalimage, a posture of the target scan object, a position of the targetscan object, a shelter of the target scan object (e.g., a shelter thatcovers a portion of the target scan object or the shooting regionthereof), a respiration phase of the target scan object, a cardiac phaseof the target scan object, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the scan status information or a portion thereofmay be obtained based on the optical image. For example, at least partof the scan status information may be obtained by analyzing the opticalimage. As another example, the shooting region of the optical image maybe obtained based on a mark (e.g., a cross mark, a highlighted mark,etc.) projected on the target scan object when acquiring the opticalimage. In some embodiments, the mark may be generated by a projectiondevice installed into (or disposed at a position closed to) the piece ofphotographic equipment on and may be further projected in the shootingregion. As a further example, the posture of the target scan object maybe obtained by performing an image recognition process (e.g., based onan image recognition algorithm, an image recognition model, etc.) on theoptical image. As still a further example, whether there is a shelter onthe target scan object may be determined or the shelter of the targetscan object may be identified by performing an image recognition processon the optical image.

In some embodiments, the scan status information or a portion thereofmay be obtained by using an external device. For example, therespiration phase and/or the cardiac phase of the target scan object maybe obtained by using external device(s). Exemplary external devices mayinclude a sensor (e.g., a pressure detecting sensor (e.g., an elasticbreathing band or a respiratory pressure pad configured to obtain arespiration motion curve of the target scan object)), an electrode(e.g., an electrocardiogram (ECG) electrode configured to obtain acardiac motion curve of the target scan object), or the like (e.g., apulse detecting clip, and/or a finger sleeve configured to obtain acardiac motion curve of the target scan object), or a combinationthereof.

In some embodiments, the scan status information or a portion thereofmay be obtained based on the scanning parameters (e.g., a scanningangle, a scanning range, a scanning path, a scanning distance, etc) usedin acquiring the corresponding scanning image. For example, because ashooting angle of the optical image acquired by the piece ofphotographic equipment may be adjusted according to a scanning angle ofthe scanning image acquired by the medical imaging device, the shootingangle of the optical image may be obtained based on the scanning angleof the scanning image. As another example, the position of the targetscan object may be obtained based on hardware information (e.g., acoordinate and/or an angle associated with a gantry, a table, an X-raytube, etc.) of the medical imaging device.

In some embodiments, the scan status information or a portion thereofmay be shown in the optical image directly. In some embodiments, thescan status information or a portion thereof may be presented in anyother form (e.g., in a form of text, in a form of curve, in a form of amark, in a form of brightness variation (see FIG. 5A or 6A), etc.). Insome embodiments, the scan status information of the target scan objectmay be used for or facilitate further processing or analysis of thescanning image (e.g., diagnosis of disease, treatment, image qualityassessment, or the like, or a combination thereof). For example, ifthere are artifacts in the scanning image, a user may check the opticalimage and determine whether there is an occlusion or shelter on thetarget scan object during the scanning process, or whether there is alesion (e.g., injury) in the target scan object.

FIG. 5A illustrates an optical image of a back region of an object(e.g., an animal). FIG. 5B illustrates a scanning image (e.g., a DRimage) of the back region of the object corresponding to the opticalimage shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B may be acquiredsimultaneously, and the shooting angle of the optical image shown inFIG. 5A may be the same as or similar to the scanning angle of thescanning image shown in FIG. 5B. The object in FIGS. 5A and 5B may be ina same posture. FIG. 6A illustrates an optical image of a chest regionof an object (e.g., a human body). FIG. 6B illustrates a scanning image(e.g., a DR image) of the chest region of the object corresponding tothe optical image shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B may be acquiredsimultaneously, and the shooting angle of the optical image shown inFIG. 6A may be the same as or similar to the scanning angle of thescanning image shown in FIG. 6B. The object in FIGS. 6A and 6B may be ina same posture. As shown in FIG. 5A (and/or FIG. 6A), a relativelybright region (e.g., the region A in FIG. 5A (or the region B in FIG.6A)) may correspond to a scanning region of the scanned object in FIG.5B (or FIG. 6B). Accordingly, the relatively bright region in FIG. 5A(and/or FIG. 6A) may be used as reference information in viewing,processing, or analyzing the DR images shown in FIG. 5B (and/or FIG.6B). For example, whether an occlusion or shelter is present on thescanned object may be determined according to the relatively brightregion. As another example, a surface condition of the scanned objectmay be determined according to the relatively bright region. Therefore,in practical applications, an optical image and a scanning image of asame target scan object may be acquired simultaneously, so that a user(e.g., a doctor) may trace scan status information of the target scanobject accurately when analyzing the scanning image, thereby assistingor facilitating the user to analyze the scanning image effectively,efficiently, and/or accurately based on the optical image.

In 420, the optical image and/or the scan status information of thetarget scan object may be stored correspondingly with the scanningimage. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 (e.g., the storingmodule 820 illustrated in FIG. 8) may preform operation 420.

In some embodiments, the optical image may be stored correspondinglywith the scanning image. In some embodiments, the scan statusinformation may be stored correspondingly with the scanning image.Taking an optical image in JPEG format as an example, in an imagestorage process, the optical image in the JPEG format may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image. Optionally or additionally, theoptical image in the JPEG format may be analyzed and converted into dataor information in any other format (e.g., a model image, a flashanimation, text information, or the like, or any combination thereof).The converted data or information may represent the scan statusinformation or a portion thereof. In some embodiments, the converteddata or information may be stored correspondingly with the scanningimage.

In some embodiments, to store the optical image (and/or the scan statusinformation) correspondingly with the scanning image, the optical image(and/or the scan status information) of the target scan object may bestored in a same file (e.g., a Digital Imaging and Communications inMedicine (DICOM) standard format file) as the scanning image.

In some embodiments, to store the optical image (and/or the scan statusinformation) of the target scan object correspondingly with the scanningimage, the optical image (and/or the scan status information) of thetarget scan object may be converted to a same format as the scanningimage. Merely by way of example, after a scanning process using amedical imaging device, a file (e.g., a DICOM standard format file) thatstores data including a scanning image of a target scan object may begenerated. An optical image of the target scan object in a non-DICOMformat (e.g., a JPG format, a JPEG format, a BMP format, a GIF format, aPNG format, etc.) may be acquired by a piece of photographic equipmentsimultaneously with the scanning process. In such cases, the opticalimage may be converted into a same format (e.g., the DICOM format) asthe scanning image such that the optical image may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image. More descriptions regarding thestoring of the optical image and/or the scan status information of thetarget scan object correspondingly with the scanning image may be foundelsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 7, FIG. 9 and thedescriptions thereof).

It should be noted that the above description of the process 400 ismerely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations or modifications may be madeunder the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variationsand modifications do not depart from the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, although only one piece of photographicequipment is illustrated in process 400, it should be understood thatthere may be two or more pieces of photographic equipment configured toacquire optical images. Correspondingly, two or more optical images maybe acquired simultaneously with the scanning image in operation 410.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, at least part of process 700 may be performed by theprocessing device 140 (implemented in, for example, the computing device200 shown in FIG. 2). For example, the process 700 may be stored in astorage device (e.g., the storage device 150, the storage 220, thestorage 390) in the form of instructions (e.g., an application), andinvoked and/or executed by the processing device 140 (e.g., theprocessor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, the CPU 340 illustrated in FIG. 3,one or more modules or units illustrated in FIG. 8). The operations ofthe illustrated process presented below are intended to be illustrative.In some embodiments, the process 700 may be accomplished with one ormore additional operations not described, and/or without one or more ofthe operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which theoperations of the process 700 as illustrated in FIG. 7 and describedbelow is not intended to be limiting.

In 710, a scanning image (also referred to as “first image”) of a targetscan object (also referred to as “subject”) may be obtained, and/or anoptical image (also referred to as “second image”) of the target scanobject may be obtained (e.g., using a piece of photographic equipment)during a scanning process of the scanning image. In some embodiments,the processing device 140 (e.g., the obtaining module 810 illustrated inFIG. 8) may preform operation 710.

In some embodiments, as described in connection with FIG. 4, thescanning image may include or refer to a medical image obtained based onan interaction between the target scan object (e.g., a human body) and amedium provided by a medical imaging device (also referred to as“scanning device”, e.g., the scanning device 111 illustrated in FIG. 1).The scanning image may be used to express internal information (e.g., astructure and/or a density of internal tissues and organs of the humanbody) of the target scan object. In some embodiments, the optical imagemay be acquired using a piece of photographic equipment. In someembodiments, the optical image and the scanning image may be acquiredsimultaneously. In some embodiments, the optical image may include scanstatus information of the target scan object. More descriptions of thescan status information may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure(e.g., FIG. 4 and descriptions thereof).

In 720, the optical image and/or the scan status information of thetarget scan object may be stored correspondingly with the scanningimage. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 (e.g., the storingmodule 820 illustrated in FIG. 8) may preform operation 720.

In some embodiments, to store the optical image (and/or the scan statusinformation) of the target scan object correspondingly with the scanningimage, the optical image (and/or the scan status information) of thetarget scan object may be converted to a same format as the scanningimage. Specifically, in some embodiments, character stream data may beobtained by performing a serialization process on the optical image(and/or the scan status information) of the target scan object accordingto a predetermined format. As used herein, the serialization process ofthe optical image (and/or the scan status information) of the targetscan object may refer to a process of transforming information of theoptical image (and/or the scan status information) of the target scanobject into a stream of bytes that can be stored or transmitted tomemory, a database, and/or a file. In some embodiments, thepredetermined format may include a format (e.g., an original format) ofthe scanning image (e.g., the DICOM standard format). Exemplarycharacter stream data in the DICOM standard format may include preamblecharacters, prefix characters, and data element characters. Differentcharacters may be used to store different information. For example, thepreamble characters may store information enabling a multi-mediaapplication to randomly access data (e.g., an image) stored in a DICOMfile. As another example, the prefix characters may store informationused to recognize whether a current file is a DICOM File. As a furtherexample, the data element characters may store information related tothe optical image (and/or the scan status information) of the targetscan object.

Further, the character stream data may be stored correspondingly withthe scanning image. In some embodiments, the character stream data andthe scanning image may be stored in a same file. Specifically, in someembodiments, the scanning image may be stored in a storage file (alsoreferred to as “a first storage file”), and the character stream datamay be stored in a pre-created storage space (also referred to as “afirst storage space”) of the storage file. In such cases, the characterstream data may be stored correspondingly with the scanning image. Insome embodiments, the storage file may be a DICOM standard format file,and the pre-created storage space may be a private tag space of theDICOM standard format file. As used herein, the private tag space mayrefer to a space reserved by a user in the DICOM standard format filefor private use. In some embodiments, each of the data elementcharacters may include a tag space. The private tag space may be aspecific tag space (or a pre-defined tag space) included in the dataelement characters. In some embodiments, the character stream data begenerated and/or stored correspondingly with the scanning image inreal-time during the scanning process of the scanning image. In someembodiments, the character stream data be generated and/or storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image after the scanning process isfinished or terminated.

In some embodiments, the character stream data may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image based on path information of astorage file of the character stream data. Specifically, in someembodiments, the scanning image may be stored in a second storage file(e.g., a DICOM standard format file), and the character stream data maybe stored in a third storage file. The second storage file may include asecond storage space (e.g., a private tag space). The path informationof the third storage file may be stored in the second storage space ofthe second storage file. As used herein, the path information of thethird storage file may refer to a general form of the name of the thirdstorage file which specifies a unique location in a file system in whichthe third storage file is stored. For example, the path information ofthe third storage file may include folder line information that can betraversed when the third storage file is retrieved. In some embodiments,the path information of the third storage file may be stored in thesecond storage space of the second storage file so that the secondstorage file is associated with the third storage file. In such cases,the character stream data may be stored correspondingly with thescanning image based on the path information. In some embodiments, thescanning image may be in the DICOM standard format, and the pathinformation may be stored in a private tag space of the DICOM standardformat file. Optionally or additionally, the optical image (and/or thescan status information) of the target scan object may be directlystored (e.g., without being serialized to character stream data) in thethird storage file. In such cases, the optical image (and/or the scanstatus information) of the target scan object may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image based on the path informationdirectly.

In 730, the scanning image, the optical image and/or the scan statusinformation corresponding to the scanning image may be output accordingto a request of a user. In some embodiments, the processing device 140(e.g., the output module 830 illustrated in FIG. 8) may preformoperation 730. In some embodiments, in response to receiving, from auser, a request for viewing the scanning image of the target scanobject, the processing device 140 may output the scanning image, theoptical image and/or the scan status information corresponding to thescanning image to a display device for display.

In some embodiments, the request may be input by the user via acomputing device (e.g., the I/O 230 of the computing device 200) or amobile device (e.g., the I/O 350 of the mobile device 300). For example,the I/O 230 or the I/O 350 may include an input device such as akeyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, a trackball, or thelike, or a combination thereof, and the user may input the request byusing the input device. In some embodiments, the request may be furtherprovided or transmitted to the processing device 140 and/or othercomponents of the image storage system 100 (e.g., via the network 120).In some embodiments, the display device may be an output device of theI/O 230 or the I/O 350.

In some embodiments, the scanning image may be stored in a storage file(e.g., the first storage file), and the character stream datacorresponding to the optical image (and/or the scan status information)may be stored in a (pre-created) storage space of the storage file. Inresponse to receiving the request for viewing the scanning image of thetarget scan object from the user, the scanning image may be obtained orread from the storage file. Further, target character stream data (alsoreferred to as data in a target character stream) may be obtained fromthe pre-created storage space of the storage file. The target characterstream data may refer to the character stream data of the optical image(and/or the scan status information) corresponding to the scanningimage. In some embodiments, the scanning image may be stored in a DICOMstandard format, and the target character stream data obtained from thepre-created storage space of the storage file of the scanning image mayalso be in the DICOM standard format. In some embodiments, the targetcharacter stream data in the DICOM standard format may not be displayeddirectly. In such cases, the target character stream data may beconverted into one or more other formats for display. For example, thetarget character stream data may be converted into an optical image ofan image format such as a JPG format, a JPEG format, a BMP format, a GIFformat, a PNG format, etc. As another example, the target characterstream data may be converted into scan status information such as amodel image, a flash animation, text information, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the target character streammay be traversed, and a deserialization process may be performed on thetarget character stream data to generate the optical image (and/or thescan status information). The scanning image, the optical image and/orthe scan status information may be further output to the display devicefor display.

In some embodiments, as described in connection with operation 720, thecharacter stream data corresponding to the optical image (and/or thescan status information) may be stored correspondingly with the scanningimage based on path information. For example, the scanning image may bestored in a storage file (e.g., the second storage file), the characterstream data may be stored in a third storage file, and path informationof the third storage file may be stored in a storage space (e.g., asecond storage space) of the second storage file. In response toreceiving the request for viewing the scanning image of the target scanobject from the user, the scanning image may be obtained or read fromthe second storage file. Further, the path information of the thirdstorage file may be obtained from the second storage space of the secondstorage file, and the third storage file may be obtained based on thepath information. Correspondingly, the character stream datacorresponding to the optical image (and/or the scan status information)may be obtained from the third storage file. In some embodiments, theoptical image (and/or the scan status information) may be generatedbased on the character stream data. For example, a deserializationprocess may be performed on the character stream data to generate theoptical image (and/or the scan status information). In such cases, thescanning image, the optical and/or the scan status information may beoutput based on the request.

According to the image storage processes provided in the presentdisclosure, a scanning image of a target scan object may be obtained,and an optical image of the target scan object may be obtained by using,e.g., a piece of photographic equipment, during the scanning process ofthe scanning image. Character stream data may be obtained by performinga serialization process on the optical image according to apredetermined format. The character stream data may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image. In response to receiving, froma user, a request for viewing the scanning image, the scanning image andthe optical image corresponding to the scanning image may be output to adisplay device for display. According to the image storage processes,the optical image and/or the scan status information may be storedand/or displayed correspondingly with the scanning image. Therefore, theuser may trace back to the optical image and/or the scan statusinformation quickly when viewing the scanning image, thereby improvingthe effectiveness, efficiency, and/or accuracy in analyzing the scanningimage.

It should be noted that the above description of the process 700 ismerely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations or modifications may be madeunder the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variationsand modifications do not depart from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the processing device 800 may be implemented on variousdevices (e.g., the computing device 200 illustrated in FIG. 2, themobile device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3). In some embodiments, theprocessing device 800 may be integrated into the processing device 140.As shown in FIG. 8, the processing device 800 may include an obtainingmodule 810 and a storing module 820.

The obtaining module 810 may be configured to obtain a scanning image ofa target scan object, and/or obtain an optical image of the target scanobject acquired by using a piece of photographic equipment during thescanning process of the scanning image. The optical image may includescan status information of the target scan object.

The storing module 820 may be configured to store the optical image(and/or the scan status information) of the target scan objectcorrespondingly with the scanning image. Specifically, in someembodiments, the storing module 820 may include a serialization unit 821and a storing unit 822. The serialization unit 821 may perform aserialization process on the optical image (and/or the scan statusinformation) of the target scan object according to a predeterminedformat and obtain character stream data. Further, the storing unit 822may store the character stream data correspondingly with the scanningimage. In some embodiments, the storing unit 822 may be configured tostore the optical image (and/or the scan status information) of thetarget scan object in a same file as the scanning image such that theoptical image is stored correspondingly with the scanning image.Specifically, in some embodiments, the storing unit 822 may store thescanning image in a storage file, and store the character stream data ina pre-created storage space of the storage file. Optionally oradditionally, the storing unit 822 may be configured to store thecharacter stream data correspondingly with the scanning image based onpath information. Specifically, in some embodiments, the storing unit822 may store the scanning image in a second storage file, and store thecharacter stream data in a third storage file. The second storage filemay include a second storage space, and the storing unit 822 may storethe path information of the third storage file in the second storagespace, so that the second storage file is associated with the thirdstorage file. In such cases, the character stream data may be storedcorrespondingly with the scanning image based on the path information.

In some embodiments, the processing device 800 may include an outputmodule 830, an extraction module, and/or a deserialization module. Theoutput module 830 may be configured to output the scanning image, theoptical image (and/or the scan status information) corresponding to thescanning image to a display device for display, for example, in responseto receiving, from a user, a request for viewing the scanning image ofthe target scan object. In some embodiments, the scanning image and thecharacter stream data may be stored in a same file (e.g., the storagefile described in connection with FIG. 7), and the output module 830 maybe configured to obtain the scanning image, the optical image (and/orthe scan status information) based on the file. In some embodiments, thecharacter stream data may be stored correspondingly with the scanningimage based on path information, and the output module 830 may beconfigured to obtain the scanning image, the optical image and/or thescan status information based on the path information.

In some embodiments, the scanning image and the character stream datamay be stored in a same file (e.g., the storage file described inconnection with FIG. 7), and the extraction module may be configured toextract target character stream data from a pre-created storage space ofthe storage file. The target character stream data may refer to thecharacter stream data of the optical image (and/or the scan statusinformation) corresponding to the scanning image. In some embodiments,the character stream data may be stored correspondingly with thescanning image based on path information, and the extraction module maybe configured to extract the target character stream data from a thirdstorage file that stores the target character stream data according tothe path information stored in the second storage file.

The deserialization module may be configured to perform adeserialization process on the target character stream data and obtainthe optical image (and/or the scan status information) of the targetscan object.

The modules in the processing device 800 may be connected to orcommunicate with each other via a wired connection or a wirelessconnection. The wired connection may include a metal cable, an opticalcable, a hybrid cable, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thewireless connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), a Bluetooth, a ZigBee, a Near Field Communication (NFC),or the like, or any combination thereof. Two or more of the modules maybe combined as a single module, and any one of the modules may bedivided into two or more units. For example, the processing device 800may also include a display module, which may be configured to displaythe scanning image, the optical image and/or the scan statusinformation. As another example, the extraction module and thedeserialization module may be configured as two units in the outputmodule 830.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for imagestorage according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, at least part of process 900 may be performed by theprocessing device 140 (implemented in, for example, the computing device200 shown in FIG. 2). For example, the process 900 may be stored in astorage device (e.g., the storage device 150, the storage 220, thestorage 390) in the form of instructions (e.g., an application), andinvoked and/or executed by the processing device 140 (e.g., theprocessor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, the CPU 340 illustrated in FIG. 3,one or more modules or units illustrated in FIG. 8). The operations ofthe illustrated process presented below are intended to be illustrative.In some embodiments, the process 900 may be accomplished with one ormore additional operations not described, and/or without one or more ofthe operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which theoperations of the process 900 as illustrated in FIG. 9 and describedbelow is not intended to be limiting.

In 910, the processing device 140 (e.g., the obtaining module 810) mayobtain a first image (e.g., a scanning image) of a subject (alsoreferred to as a “target scan object”). In 920, the processing device140 (e.g., the obtaining module 810) may obtain a second image (e.g., anoptical image) of the subject.

As described in connection with operation 410, the subject may include apatient, a man-made object, etc. In some embodiments, the subject mayinclude a specific portion, organ, and/or tissue of a patient. Forexample, the subject may include a head, a brain, a neck, a body, ashoulder, an arm, a thorax, a cardiac, a stomach, a blood vessel, a softtissue, a knee, feet, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the first image may be acquired by a scanningdevice, and the second image may be acquired by a capture device (e.g.,a piece of photographic equipment). For example, the first image may bea medical image acquired based on an interaction between the subject(e.g., a human body) and a medium provided by the scanning device (e.g.,the scanning device 111 illustrated in FIG. 1). The first image may beused to express internal information (e.g., a structure and/or a densityof internal tissues and organs of the human body) of the subject. Moredescriptions of the mediums and the scanning device may be foundelsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 4 and descriptionsthereof). In some embodiments, the optical image may be acquired byusing the capture device (e.g., the capture device 112 illustrated inFIG. 1). More descriptions of the capture device may be found elsewherein the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 4 and descriptions thereof).

In some embodiments, the first image may be acquired by a firstcomponent of a scanning device, and the second image may be acquired bya second component of the scanning device. For example, the scanningdevice may include one or more scanners that are configured as the firstcomponent, and one or more pieces of photographic equipment may bedisposed inside the scanning device and used as the second component.

In some embodiments, the second image may include scan statusinformation of the subject. The scan status information may beassociated with a status of the subject when the first image isacquired. More descriptions of the scan status information and thedetermination of the scan status information may be found elsewhere inthe present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 4 and descriptions thereof).

In some embodiments, the first image may include a 2D image, and thesecond image may include a video frame. In some embodiments, the firstimage may include a 3D image, and the second image may include a video.Taking a CT scanning process as an example, scan data of the subject maybe acquired by a CT scanning device and a video of the subject may beacquired by a piece of photographic equipment during the CT scanningprocess. Further, a 2D tomographic image corresponding to a specifictime point of the CT scanning process may be obtained by performing animage reconstruction process on at least part of the scan data, and the2D tomographic image may be associated with (or correspond to) a videoframe at the specific time point in the video. In such cases, the 2Dtomographic image may be determined as the first image, and the videoframe may be determined as the second image. Optionally or additionally,a 3D image (and/or a plurality of 2D tomographic images corresponding toa plurality of (e.g., each) time point of the CT scanning process) maybe obtained based on the scan data. In such cases, the 3D image may bedetermined as the first image, and the video may be determined as thesecond image.

In some embodiments, the first image and the second image may beacquired simultaneously. For example, signals and/or instructions may besent to the scanning device (or the first component of the scanningdevice) and the piece of photographic equipment (or the second componentof the scanning device) (e.g., at the same time) to cause the scanningdevice and the piece of photographic equipment to work simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may obtain the firstimage from the scanning device (or the first component of the scanningdevice) and obtain the second image from the piece of photographicequipment (or the second component of the scanning device), directly. Insome embodiments, the first image and the second image acquiredsimultaneously may be stored in a storage device (e.g., the storagedevice 150) disclosed elsewhere in the present disclosure. Theprocessing device 140 may obtain the first image and/or the second imagefrom the storage device.

In 930, the processing device 140 (e.g., the storing module 820) maystore the second image correspondingly with the first image. In someembodiments, to store the second image correspondingly with the firstimage, the processing device 140 may store the second image and thefirst image in a same file.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may obtain characterstream data corresponding to the second image based on the second image.Specifically, in some embodiments, the processing device 140 may obtainthe character stream data by performing a serialization process on thesecond image. More descriptions of the serialization process may befound elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 4, FIG. 7, anddescriptions thereof). In some embodiments, the processing device 140may perform the serialization process on the second image according to apredetermined format (e.g., a DICOM standard format).

Further, in some embodiments, the processing device 140 may store thecharacter stream data correspondingly with the first image.Specifically, in some embodiments, the processing device 140 may storethe first image in a first storage file (e.g., a DICOM standard formatfile). In some embodiments, the first storage file may include a firststorage space (e.g., a private tag space of the DICOM standard formatfile). The processing device 140 may further store the character streamdata in the first storage space of the first storage file. In suchcases, the character stream data may be stored correspondingly with thefirst image.

In some embodiments, to store the character stream data correspondinglywith the first image, the processing device 140 may store the firstimage in a second storage file. The second storage file may include asecond storage space. Further, in some embodiments, the processingdevice 140 may store the character stream data in a third storage file.In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may store pathinformation of the third storage file in the second storage space of thesecond storage file. More descriptions of the path information may befound elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 7 and descriptionsthereof). In such cases, the character stream data may be storedcorrespondingly with the first image based on path information.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may also store the scanstatus information correspondingly with the first image. For example,the processing device 140 may determine the scan status information byanalyzing the second image. Further, the processing device 140 mayobtain character stream data by performing a serialization process onthe scan status information. Furthermore, the processing device 140 maystore the scan status information correspondingly with the first imagein a similar way as storing the second image correspondingly with thefirst image. More description regarding the storing of the second imagecorrespondingly with the first image may be found elsewhere in thepresent disclosure (e.g., FIG. 7 and the descriptions thereof).

It should be noted that the above description of the process 900 ismerely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations or modifications may be madeunder the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variationsand modifications do not depart from the scope of the presentdisclosure. According to the image storage method illustrated in theprocess 900, the first image may be stored and/or displayedcorrespondingly with the second image. A user (e.g., a doctor) may tracescan status information of the subject accurately when analyzing thescanning image, thereby assisting or facilitating the user to analyzethe scanning image effectively, efficiently, and/or accurately based onthe optical image. Moreover, redundant information generated during astorage process may be reduced by storing the first imagecorrespondingly with the second image, thereby saving storage space andimproving efficiency of image storage and/or image display.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for outputtingan image according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, at least part of process 1000 may be performed by theprocessing device 140 (implemented in, for example, the computing device200 shown in FIG. 2). For example, the process 1000 may be stored in astorage device (e.g., the storage device 150, the storage 220, thestorage 390) in the form of instructions (e.g., an application), andinvoked and/or executed by the processing device 140 (e.g., theprocessor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, the CPU 340 illustrated in FIG. 3,one or more modules or units illustrated in FIG. 8). The operations ofthe illustrated process presented below are intended to be illustrative.In some embodiments, the process 1000 may be accomplished with one ormore additional operations not described, and/or without one or more ofthe operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which theoperations of the process 1000 as illustrated in FIG. 10 and describedbelow is not intended to be limiting.

In 1010, the processing device 140 may receive a request for viewing thefirst image from a user.

In some embodiments, the request may be input by the user via acomputing device (e.g., the I/O 230 of the computing device 200) or amobile device (e.g., the I/O 350 of the mobile device 300). For example,the I/O 230 or the I/O 350 may include an input device such as akeyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, a trackball, or thelike, or a combination thereof, and the user may input the request byusing the input device. In some embodiments, the request may be furtherprovided or transmitted to the processing device 140 and/or othercomponents of the image storage system 100 (e.g., via the network 120).

In 1020, the processing device 140 may output the first image and thesecond image for display based on the request.

In some embodiments, as described in connection with operation 930, thefirst image may be stored in a first storage file and character streamdata corresponding to the second image may be stored in a first storagespace of the first storage file. In such cases, the processing device140 may obtain the first image from the first storage file and obtainthe character stream data corresponding to the second image from thefirst storage space of the first storage file. Further, the processingdevice 140 may generate the second image based on the character streamdata. For example, the processing device 140 may generate the secondimage by performing a deserialization process on the character streamdata. Furthermore, the processing device 140 may output the first imageand the second image based on the request.

In some embodiments, as described in connection with operation 930, thefirst image may be stored in a second storage file the character streamdata corresponding to the second image may be stored in a third storagefile, and path information of the third storage file may be stored in asecond storage space of the second storage file. In such cases, theprocessing device 140 may obtain the first image from the second storagefile, and obtain path information of the third storage file from thesecond storage space of the second storage file. Further, the processingdevice 140 may obtain the third storage file based on the pathinformation, and obtain the character stream data corresponding to thesecond image from the third storage file. Furthermore, the processingdevice 140 may generate the second image based on the character streamdata. For example, the processing device 140 may generate the secondimage by performing a deserialization process on the character streamdata. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may output thefirst image and the second image based on the request.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may also output the scanstatus information for display based on the request in a similar way asoutputting the first image and the second image for display. Moredescription regarding outputting the first image and the second image(or the scan status information) for display may be found elsewhere inthe present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 7 and the descriptions thereof).

It should be noted that the above description of the process 1000 ismerely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations or modifications may be madeunder the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variationsand modifications do not depart from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure may also provide a computerreadable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computerprogram is executed by a processor (e.g., the processing device 140), animage storage method provided in the present disclosure may beimplemented. The method may include obtaining a scanning image of atarget scan object, and obtaining an optical image of the target scanobject acquired by using a piece of photographic equipment during thescanning process of the scanning image. The optical image may includescan status information of the target scan object. The method may alsoinclude storing the optical image (and/or the scan status information)correspondingly with the scanning image.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and arewithin the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this disclosure are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particularfeatures, structures or characteristics may be combined as suitable inone or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “unit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionperforming system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2103, Perl, COBOL2102, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appendedclaims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software only solution, e.g., an installationon an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. Thismethod of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed subject matter requires more features thanare expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive embodiments liein less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±20% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in itsentirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and described.

We claim:
 1. A method for image storage, implemented on at least onemachine each of which has at least one processor and at least onestorage device, comprising: obtaining a first image of a subject;obtaining a second image of the subject, the second image including scanstatus information of the subject, the scan status information beingassociated with a status of the subject when the first image isacquired; and storing the second image correspondingly with the firstimage.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing the scanstatus information correspondingly with the first image.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the storing the second image correspondingly withthe first image comprises: storing the second image and the first imagein a same file.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing the secondimage correspondingly with the first image comprises: obtaining, basedon the second image, character stream data corresponding to the secondimage; and storing the character stream data correspondingly with thefirst image.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the obtaining, based onthe second image, character stream data corresponding to the secondimage comprises: obtaining the character stream data by performing aserialization process on the second image.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein the storing the character stream data correspondingly with thefirst image comprises: storing the first image in a first storage file,the first storage file including a first storage space; and storing thecharacter stream data in the first storage space of the first storagefile.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the storing the character streamdata correspondingly with the first image comprises: storing the firstimage in a second storage file, the second storage file including asecond storage space; storing the character stream data in a thirdstorage file; and storing path information of the third storage file inthe second storage space of the second storage file.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first image and the second image are acquiredsimultaneously.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first image is ascanning image, and the second image is an optical image.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first image is acquired by a scanning device,and the second image is acquired by a piece of photographic equipment;or the first image is acquired by a first component of a scanningdevice, and the second image is acquired by a second component of thescanning device.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first imageincludes a 2D image, and the second image includes a video frame; or thefirst image includes a 3D image, and the second image includes a video.12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a user, arequest for viewing the first image; and outputting, based on therequest, the first image and the second image for display.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: outputting, based on therequest, the scan status information for display.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the outputting, based on the request, the first imageand the second image for display comprises: obtaining, from a firststorage file, the first image; obtaining, from a first storage space ofthe first storage file, character stream data corresponding to thesecond image; generating, based on the character stream data, the secondimage; and outputting, based on the request, the first image and thesecond image.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the generating, basedon the character stream data, the second image comprises: generating thesecond image by performing a deserialization process on the characterstream data.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the outputting, basedon the request, the first image and the second image for displaycomprises: obtaining, from a second storage file, the first image;obtaining, from a second storage space of the second storage file, pathinformation of a third storage file that stores character stream datacorresponding to the second image; obtaining, based on the pathinformation, the third storage file; obtaining, from the third storagefile, the character stream data corresponding to the second image;generating, based on the character stream data, the second image; andoutputting, based on the request, the first image and the second image.17. The method of claim 16, wherein the generating, based on thecharacter stream data, the second image comprises: generating the secondimage by performing a deserialization process on the character streamdata.
 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining thescan status information by analyzing the second image.
 19. A system forimage storage, comprising: at least one storage medium including a setof instructions; and at least one processor in communication with the atleast one storage medium, wherein when executing the set ofinstructions, the at least one processor is directed to cause the systemto: obtain a first image of a subject; obtain a second image of thesubject, the second image including scan status information of thesubject, the scan status information being associated with a status ofthe subject when the first image is acquired; and store the second imagecorrespondingly with the first image.
 20. A non-transitory computerreadable medium, comprising at least one set of instructions for imagestorage, wherein when executed by one or more processors of a computingdevice, the at least one set of instructions causes the computing deviceto perform a method, the method comprising: obtaining a first image of asubject; obtaining a second image of the subject, the second imageincluding scan status information of the subject, the scan statusinformation being associated with a status of the subject when the firstimage is acquired; and storing the second image correspondingly with thefirst image.